A Study on the War Powers of the President of the United States

Abstract

The U.S. president's right to war is one of the key issues in the separation of powers between the president and Congress under the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Constitution distributes the right to war to the president and Congress, and the president is given the right to wage war and the Congress is given the right to declare war. However, this decentralized power worked in the president's favor in reality, and the president often waged war without the consent of Congress. The provisions of the right to war in the U.S. Constitution are stipulated in Article 2, Paragraph 2, which gives the president the right to command the military, and Article 1, Paragraph 8, which gives the Congress the right to declare war. Constitutional makers gave the president the right to wage war, allowing the president to take military action quickly and flexibly in wartime situations. In addition, by granting the Congress the right to declare war, the president's right to war was checked and a mechanism was prepared to reflect the people's intention to war. The right to war in the United States has been a subject of debate since the beginning of the founding of the United States. George Washington, the first president, exercised his own right to wage war without Congress' consent, and this behavior was inherited by subsequent presidents. However, the prolongation and defeat of the Vietnam War changed the perception of the war in American society, and in 1973, Congress enacted the War Rights Resolution to limit the president's right to wage the war. The Warzone Resolution requires the president to end the military operation unless approved by Congress within 60 days. However, the resolution of the war zone was virtually neutralized by the president's disregard for Congress and the Supreme Court's denial of constitutionality. In addition, the resolution of the right to war does not clearly define the concept of war or the scope of war, so it does not substantially limit the president's right to wage war. America's right to war remains a major source of conflict between Congress and the president. Congress is trying to limit the president's right to wage war, but the president is trying to exercise the right to wage war stipulated in the constitution. These conflicts are expected to have a major impact on the US foreign and security policy. America's right to war is a key issue in the separation of powers between the president and Congress. It is necessary to readjust the right to war in order to secure the legitimacy and democracy of war while maintaining the separation of powers between the president and the parliament. To this end, legislative efforts are needed to clearly define the concept of war and the scope of war conduct, and to substantially strengthen the parliament's right to war.